Motor vehicle heat exchangers for cooling engine coolant, refrigerant vapor and transmission oil in vehicles are known. Commonly, these types of heat exchangers include a pair of tank units and a plurality of parallel tube passes extending between the tank units. Air centers are connected between the parallel tube passes. Many of these heat exchangers utilize separate headers and tanks braze sealed to one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,476 issued Nov. 5, 1991 in the name of Ryan et al. and assigned to the assignee of the subject invention discloses a typical heat exchanger utilizing a pair of tank units with a parallel tube pass core therebetween. The tank units are comprised of separate headers and tanks which are braze sealed to one another. The header comprises a generally flat elongated sheet slid into grooves within the tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,914 issued Aug. 6, 1991 in the name of Nishishita et al. discloses a heat exchanger of a similar type discussed above including the separate tanks and headers with a parallel tube pass core therebetween. The tank comprises a generally arcuate shape having transverse flanges extending therefrom. The header is generally semicircular in shape and includes an exterior surface which abuts the tank flanges. A problem with this type of design is that the header and tank are not clinched to one another and may separate during assembly of the tube passes thereto such that a braze seal therebetween is faulty.